True Grich is dedicated to one of my all-time favorite Angels - Bobby Grich.Bob-Bay! was fearless, and made watching baseball fun. True Grich is all about having fun talkin' baseball. So, come on in and don't be afraid.

"It’s good for your soul to give yourself completely to something you have no control over."
Ben (Jimmy Fallon) from the movie - Fever Pitch

October 12, 2009

Okay, so the Angels just swept away one obnoxious fan base and what do you know? Here we go again to face another batch of the loud and the proud. Forgive me for painting these two fan bases with a broad brush. I know it’s not fair to the fans of those teams that actually can conduct themselves in a civil manner, but humor me anyway just so I can get through this post.

Get ready to hear the “got rings?” mantra over and over again. If they’re not saying it, they’re usually wearing it in the form of a t-shirt. My answer? No, I don’t have any “rings” and neither do you, unless you were actually employed by a team while they won a World Series.

What you Yankee fans do have is a boat load of memories and the experience of seeing your team win it all 26 times. We get it. We know all about your rich tradition. Albeit, you will have to go back a little further than us Angel fans to recall your last title. In fact, taking 2008 off from the play-offs probably made you more nostalgic than ever … until now.

And for the record Yankee fans – this is all about the “now.” So when the Angels put the beat down on the Yankees, please don’t ask me the "rings" question. Please don’t resort to that because you have nothing else to fire back at us Angel fans. That's as weak as Johnny Damon's arm. It’s 2009. It’s a new day and it’s all about the scoreboard. If you want to give us a history lesson, at least wait until our team has had their parade.

Am I predicting an Angels victory? Well, I’m actually really not here to do that. I’m just laying the ground work for a conversation we might be having sometime soon. And it goes both ways.

So, let’s set the ground rules now. Let’s talk about this season and this series. Let’s agree that the two best teams in the American League are about to get it on. Winner goes to the big party. Loser goes home. I don’t want to see you standing on the platform shouting out the “got rings?” question as our train pulls away from the depot. I’d just rather see you give us a simple wave and be on your way. If your team proves to better, I’ll do the same.

Let’s not rehash the past. We got plenty of that with the Red Sox and how… well, let’s not even go back there.

Every play-off series should be treated like a Heavyweight Title Fight. The winner is crowned champion. There’s no “look at all the other guys I’ve beaten.” Or even better, “got belts?” A boxer is only as good as his last fight. This should be the case for baseball teams as well. The only real fan base that has any bragging rights are Philadelphia Phillies fans and until their team is knocked out they should be the only ones doing any talking.

Look, I promise not to bring up any recent Angels/Yankees play-off history. What’s the point? It would be hypocritical of me to talk about the recent past, right? I’m glad we agree on the ground rules.

Now, there are some things I can not promise you. I may claim the devil wears pinstripes. I will probably let out an A-Roid chant now and then and throw in a Madonna joke or two. I’ll do a little cheater, cheater, Derek Jeter (just because it sounds good and he did cheat on his taxes). I may even refer to your team as the NY Mercenaries. I will definitely laugh when Jorge Posada tries to throw out Chone Figgins stealing a base. And all that’s just for starters. Just know it’s not personal. It’s part of the fun.

Cheryl's entry (she took 2nd place) for a contest in the Orange County Register

We Will Never Forget...

Nick Adenhart 1986-2009

We Will Never Forget...

Nick Adenhart 1986-2009

Baseball Quote of the Moment

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. ~A. Bartlett Giamatti, "The Green Fields of the Mind," Yale Alumni Magazine, November 1977

Mighty Maicer

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If you build it, they will come...

Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.